A fun class led by the wonderful Sara with various sensory activities designed to support your baby’s sensory development every week and you are welcome to join at any time. Classes are term time only and get booked up early so try to book early or join the waiting list.

Bring your baby along while you get in shape, all yoga abilities welcome, including complete beginners. Babies from 6 weeks-1 year. Bring a yoga mat if you have one (spares if not) and a blanket for your baby to lie on – Dads welcome too.

A lively, friendly class with lots of fun singing songs, playing instruments, puppets and props, action songs, parachute fun and bubbles! There’s free tea and coffee after class which gives you a chance to have a chat and get to know the other mums.

Price: £6 per session, payable in advance in half termly slots (usually 6 weeks). Free trial session available. You can turn up any Wednesday for a free trial and then book in and pay for the rest of the half term if you wish to continue.
Address: Redbridge Drama Centre, Churchfields, South Woodford E18 2RB
Contact: Theresa Edwards tinytalent@hotmail.com or you can get in touch via the Redbridge Drama Centre 0208 708 800

Drop on for a cup of tea to meet other mums in the area, whether you have a newborn or preschooler. You don’t need to be an NCT member to attend. All attendees will be given slug cards which entitles you to a 10% discount.

A fun class led by the wonderful Sara with various sensory activities designed to support your baby’s sensory development every week and you are welcome to join at any time. Classes are term time only and get booked up early so try to book early or join the waiting list. Pay and display parking available in the library car park.

A friendly stay and playgroup suitable from birth to 5 years old open during term time. There are bikes, scooters and toy cars for the older children to use, and a baby corner with range of baby toys for the little ones. Tea, biscuits and chats for the parents and carers. All welcome.

A fun class led by the wonderful Sara with various sensory activities designed to support your baby’s sensory development every week and you are welcome to join at any time. Classes are term time only and get booked up early so try to book early or join the waiting list.

A multi-sensory, musical experiences for babies and children from 4 months to 4 years. Classes use music, innovative props and puppetry together with a vast array of multi-sensory techniques. The class takes places within the James Leal Centre which has an on site cafe, small soft play area and is next to the park. There is a pay and display parking at the top of the park and it is a 2-3minute walk down.

A 45 minute music, singing and movement class for babies and young children. Different educational themes are introduced weekly, such as colours and numbers, using action songs and well known rhymes. We also have a wide range of visuals and props to help explain the theme. Children play with percussion instruments, get a chance to meet Jo Jingles the doll as well as interacting with bean bags, streamers and bubbles

A fun 5 week class where you learn simple, gentle dance routines while wearing your baby in a sling. This is a friendly session run by Sally who is a qualified baby-wearing consultant. Even if you don’t usually use a sling or own one, Sally can provide one and offer advice. You don’t have to be a good dancer (I’m pretty rubbish!) but it’s a lovely way to do something different with your baby and they all seem to find it very relaxing.

Sessions that allow your children to use special Tumble Tots equipment to develop their coordination, balance, agility and climbing skills. Sessions are structured with activities matched to your child’s age and ability and involve parent participation.

The circuit class at 12.45pm is geared up for siblings of various ages with various activity stations to focus on different skills.

9.45AM Walking to 2 years
10.45AM 2 to 3 years
12.45PM Circuit fun – walking to 5 years
1.45PM 3 Years to school age

An extremely popular toddler group at the All Saints Church hall (which also has a great coffee shop in the atrium that you can use any time). There’s activities and toys, craft and singing for children aged 1 to 3 years old and tea and coffee for the grown ups. The sessions are so popular that there is a waiting list so its best to turn up to a session and chat yo one of the organisers so that they can add you to the waiting list. Session times are 10AM-11.30AM or 1.30PM – 3PM on a Monday and they also have a Thursday session.

Interactive music fun full of nursery rhymes for pre-school children run by Suzanne with some help from Daisy Diddle the cow. Classes are 45 minutes long and as well as musical instruments different props are also used such as a parachute and the always popular bubbles.

Everyone is welcome, there is no need to book and also no registration fee. Just drop in and see us at £5 per child and £2.50 for siblings.

Suitable for babies from 6 months to walking these sessions are the baby-friendly version of Tumble Tots. Parents get involved in the 40 minutes sessions which focus on encouraging babies to use their senses and play, explore and crawl.

The Buddha Baby massage (5 week) course teaches you massage strokes and techniques and includes the IAIM guidance on relieving colic and digestive problems. Most parents come along when their baby is approximately 3 months old, but you can attend with a younger baby. The atmosphere is very relaxed and there is plenty of time for discussions and informal chat. Everything you need is provided including baby mats, towels and tissue, guidance booklet and organic massage oil to take home. Refreshments, including tea and coffee and fresh fruit are served as part of the session as well as her traditional homemade cakes.

“Amazing and loads better than a takeaway,” this was just one of the many gushing things my partner had to say about the leftovers I brought home from my Bebs Bites Indian Cookery lesson. And it’s high praise indeed from someone who loves Indian food and would eat takeaways most days of the week if he could. He was totally right though, the food we created in just a few hours with Ranjeet, who runs Bebs Bites Indian Cookery lessons from her home in Woodford, was totally delicious.

Yellow Lentil Dahl, Keema Lamb, Raita and rice

I arrived at Ranjeet’s house on a Saturday evening late and harassed after facing a toddler bedtime battle, but luckily her house was an oasis of calm and I was shown to the conservatory at the back where two other pupils were waiting. They were a lovely, young couple, cooking novices who had travelled from Brixton for the class after reading such brilliant reviews on Trymykitchen.com.

Ranjeet immediately made us all feel at home, offering a glass of beer or wine to start with, and talking us through the spices we would be using throughout the evening. Even though I have cooked quite a lot with spices, Ranjeet was excellent at telling us about each one and demonstrating the differences when you roast and grind your own and she was brilliant at sharing tips and tricks about how to cook and prepare spices as we went along.

Chilli Paneer

We began by making a starter of Chilli paneer which was surprisingly easy to make but absolutely gorgeous and which I will definitely be making again. We then moved on to one of my favourite dishes, a Yellow lentil dahl and while I have tried loads of versions of this around the world the combination of ingredients and spices made this one of the best. Then we set to work on our other main dish which was Keema lamb which could also be made with Quorn for the vegetarians. As with all the dishes, we were surprised by how little oil we used and as Ranjeet explained the lack of loads of ghee, oil and onions that you find in takeaway food means that her recipes are healthy as well as being delicious.

Amazingly, Ranjeet runs two Indian cooking courses a week as well as holding down a job and raising a family and although she has only be running lessons since September 2015 she comes across as a natural hostess and teacher. Not only does she offer adult cookery classes in the evenings, such as the one I went to, she also offers bespoke children’s cookery courses. Usually these are a minimum of 4 lessons run once a week for an hour for parents and kids to do together, and is often a popular activity for dads to do with their children. Children can learn to cook things liked baked bhajis, chapati, stuffed parathas – healthy Indian food that is not deep fried, with an emphasis on teaching children about real ingredients and proper food. I think this would be a great idea of children who love cooking and you can see some photos of happy kids having a go on the Bebs Bites Facebook page.

Keema lamb

After our Keema main courses were cooked, we all sat down at the table together to try the dishes we’d made along with some rice and a simple raita that Ranjeet showed us how to make. We were all amazed that we’d managed to cook such yummy food in such a short space of time – although I do think the fresh spices we used made a massive difference. If I didn’t have cupboards full of spices at home I would have bought some of the freshly ground spice trays Ranjeet was selling and it has definitely motivated me to cook Indian food more regularly. The couple who were doing the course with me both said they found the lesson very simple and easy to follow, so I’d recommend it for people of all abilities. As a parting gift, we were even sent home with some Indian sweets that Ranjeet had made for us.

You are advised to bring Tuppaware containers to your class so you can take home any leftovers and my partner has already been asking when I’m going to cook the recipes again. But I’ve got a better idea, I’m already planning on sending my partner along for his own lesson so he can learn how to cook these dishes himself.

Disclaimer: I attended the cookery lesson free of charge in exchange for a review, but as always, the words and opinions in this review are completely honest and my own.

About me

I’m Dana and I live in Woodford Green with The Little One (4 years old), No.2 (almost a year) and the boyfriend.
This is about our mini adventures as we explore the local area finding family-friendly places and activities in Woodford, Wanstead, London and beyond.